


I Know

by Sprinkles257



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: ANGSTY AS ALL GETOUT, But I'm not very good at it XD, Especially Papyrus though lmao, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, I love it so much, I really need to try writing fluff, Sans because of resets, The skeleton brothers are both sad, Undyne feels a little guilty, and Papyrus because of normal repetition, rated t for depression themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-08 10:23:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14103297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sprinkles257/pseuds/Sprinkles257
Summary: A hypothetical sitation: What if Papyrus found out he was being lied to the whole time about being a Royal Guard? He's been sad before, but this day in particular is a winner.(This has probably been done before asdfghjkl)-Sans and Undyne's relationship is...interesting! I wish there was more on it. I like to imagine they're like "frenemies". Undyne gets mad at Sans a lot, and their approach with things are basically polar opposites, but they have SOME things in common. (Especially their fondness for Papyrus.)





	I Know

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [I Know](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/367350) by LennonTheVocaloid. 



> The end portion of this fanfic is this comic right here by LennonTheVocaloid, all credits for that part go to them.
> 
> The rest of the fanfic is my own doing! I hope you like it. ^^  
> (Why do I love making my favorite characters sad?! Does this make me a sadist, or a masochist because I enjoy writing angst? XD)
> 
> Here is one of the songs I listened to while writing this (I think it's rather fitting): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF8sAD690Iw  
> I adore 8-bit remixes!

   Papyrus was feeling rather tired.

   Unusual, right? Well, he just wasn’t feeling the best lately. Optimistic as he was, no one could deny feeling sad every once in a while. This one day…hit pretty hard.

   It was a usual day having a “cooking” lesson with Undyne. He didn’t really understand what it had to do with guardly business – but Undyne was his friend, so he went with it. Besides, his spaghetti made others happy – and that made _him_ happy. Usually, anyway. But he later realized learning to cook the same thing repeatedly wasn’t really a lesson. He could tell she was hiding _something –_ but what? He tried his best not to pry, but it really was a pestering thought. Papyrus knew how persistent Undyne can be. (really, anyone who knew her longer than a day could.) She probably wasn’t going to stop this anytime soon.

   “Underground to Papyrus!” The fish lady called, snapping her fingers in front of his face.

   “W—WHAT?” He looked down to the (slightly chunky) sauce mixture he was stirring. “OH. I DIDN’T INTEND TO ZONE OUT, THERE.”

   “I really like the passion you’re putting into this, but…” She gestured to the skeleton’s cheekbones and “battle body”. “You have a little something, uh, everywhere.”

   “…IT SEEMS I DO. WHOOPSIE DOOPSIE!”  Normally he would have more of a reaction than that, but today he was a little out of it.

   Undyne noticed. “Hey, are you alright? You look distracted.”

   “I’M FINE. I JUST HAVE SOME THINGS ON MY MIND.”

   “Okay then.” Undyne gave her friend a slap on the back. He flinched slightly out of surprise but wasn’t too fazed by it. It was just the fish lady’s way of showing platonic affection. “If it bothers you too much, let me know. Alright, champ?”

   Papyrus couldn’t help cracking a smile. Whatever Undyne was hiding from him, it was with good intentions.

   But it still hurt.

   “ALRIGHT.”

   Undyne couldn’t help feeling a small pang of guilt. She knew Papyrus was a little naïve – but he was also smart and tough. She just didn’t know what she’d do if the skeleton got hurt. He could protect himself and wouldn’t hesitate to battle – but he refused to kill. If a really malicious human or monster targeted him…well.

   So she decided to ask a question. She always wondered why he wanted to be a guard to begin with. At first, she assumed he was just eager to please and get into action. But there was more than that.

   “Hey.” She said once the lesson was over. They were sitting at a table, drinking tea. Papyrus was looking at the wall until he heard his name.

   “HMM?”

   “Why do you want to be a Royal Guard?”

   Papyrus’s grip on his cup tightened slightly. Friends. Reverence, perhaps.

   “TO GET ALL THE ATTENTION I DESERVE!”

   A pause.

   “You know you’re pretty freakin’ tough, right?”

   “…YES.”

   “Well, it’s true! Don’t let anyone call you weak.”

   _WHY IS SHE TELLING ME THIS?_ She must “have some things on her mind” too, he realized. This probably had something to do with what she was keeping him from knowing. She was hiding something because of his ability to fight—

   _OH GOD. SHE’S TRYING TO PROTECT ME, ISN’T SHE?_ He appreciated the kind gesture, but he could handle it himself! No murderers are here. Even if there were, he could help them to a better path.

   He’s been doing these lessons for weeks. It wouldn’t matter how hard he tried, he’d do it again. He hated to direct it at his friend, but he couldn’t help the build-up of – frustration? anger? sadness? – inside him.

   His grip on his cup got tighter still – any further and it would shatter. He had great control over his strength, but there was the occasion where he would lose it.

   This was not okay. Something was irking him _badly_. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

   Undyne internally reprimanded herself. That wasn’t a very good way to put it. She normally wouldn’t have taken attention to it, but this was serious.

   Papyrus abruptly got up from his chair. “I…I…NEED TO GO.”

   “No, you don’t! Tell me what’s hurting you!”

    He appeared a little confused – he looked around the room, then looked Undyne straight in the eye. After that he ran without another word. He could be a very fast runner.

   “PAPYRUS!” Undyne called for the second time that day. Dang it, she was worried. She wasn’t the best at handling stuff like this. Was this all her doing? Surely not. There must be _someone_ who could be doing something similar, lying to protect someone else. Someone who could recognize these odd behaviors in Papyrus—

   Sans.

   She had to find Sans.

* * *

 

   Undyne was thankful that she had the contacts of most of her sentries and guards (some of the dogs couldn’t use phones).

   “Sans?”

   She heard soft snoring on the other end of the phone.

   “SANS!”

   “…hmm?”

   He was a light sleeper. Good.

   “Where are you?”

   “i’m right here.”

   Undyne yelled in alarm. “You—you need to _stop_ that.”

   “sorry.” He looked up. “what’s the problem?”

   The fish lady sighed. “I was training with Papyrus today and he seemed bothered by something. We carried on like normal until he suddenly ran off. I’m worried about him.”

   “and you’re wondering if i can figure out what’s wrong, right?”

   “…Yeah. You two are really close, so I was going to ask if you’ve seen him do it before?”

   Sans grinned with just a little touch of sadness. “close. heh, don’t i know it. he has been a little down lately, but not to the point of running away. i think we both know why.” Undyne definitely wasn’t the only one who took this approach with the tall skeleton. Sans tried protecting Papyrus as a kid, and…old habits are hard to break. He may not show a lot of care on the outside, but he did.

   “I think I know now. Something must have pushed him over. But why so suddenly…?”

   “well, you know us skeletons are full of surprises.”

   Undyne glared. “ _Right._ Anyway, could you go help him? I really hate seeing him like this. I’m sure you don’t like it that much either.”

   Sans shrugged. “alright, i’ll go see if he’s doing ok. thanks for telling me.”

* * *

 

   Papyrus was sitting on a patch of ground in Waterfall. Glowing reeds and flowers surrounded him. His knees were up to his chest and his hands were on his mandible. He looked deep in (not very nice) thought.

   _I RESPECT THE DECISION, REALLY. IT MAKES ME HAPPY TO KNOW OTHERS CARE ABOUT ME, BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT THEM, TOO._

_BUT I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING. MOST OF THE TIME, ANYWAY. I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS AFTER ALL! NYEH HEH…HEH…I GUESS RIGHT NOW I’M NOT FEELING TOO GREAT._

_I REALLY WISH A HUMAN COULD COME SO I COULD PROVE MYSELF! THEN UNDYNE WOULD REALLY BELIEVE ME._

_BUT WILL I EVER CAPTURE ONE? NONE HAVE FALLEN RECENTLY, WHY DO I THINK ONE WILL NOW?_

   He heard a little rustling and saw his brother. Was he looking for him? It seems so.

   “hey bro.” Sans was looking at him. He appeared slightly distressed.

   “OH…HELLO, BROTHER…” He gave a little wave. The small skeleton sat down next to him.

   “undyne told me you were pretty upset.” Papyrus turned away, not saying anything. It was certainly unusual.

   “wanna tell me what’s wrong?”

   Silence.

   “c’mon, you can tell me anything.”

   Papyrus spoke, but he looked to the ground. His expression darkened. “SANS…”

   “HAVE YOU EVER FELT LIKE NOTHING YOU DO MATTERS? THAT YOU DO THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN…BUT NOTHING YOU DO CHANGES ANYTHING?”

   Sans looked shocked. That was definitely not the reply he expected. God, was it really _that_ bad? He has felt that way, but for an entirely different (and fourth-wall breaking) reason.

   The small skeleton put his arm around his brother, giving a side hug, and sighed. He didn’t really know how else to act. “yeah. i do.”

   They held like that for a little while, just accepting each other in the lingering silence.

    _MAYBE...MAYBE IT WILL GET BETTER. NO. IT_ WILL _._

* * *

    “you know, my brother’s been a little down lately. seeing a human would really cheer him up. mind helping me out?”

And they did.

**Author's Note:**

> Pacifist Frisk comes in at the very end to help. Yay!  
> "No murderers are here. Even if there were, he could help them to a better path. "  
> That's right, Papyrus. Unless you want there to be. ;D  
> (Oof I'm horrible I know.)


End file.
